DAY 151, or May 31. God rewards His faithful servant. Our thoughts today are rooted in
Job chapter 42 verse 10. After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes
and gave him twice as much as he had before.
Lets look at the big picture surrounding this verse. After so many mournful chapters, isn't
it great to see that it all ended happily after all? God continued teaching Job about
the animals that inhabit the earth, all of which were made by him. In order to make a
point of extreme power, two of the most powerful mythological beasts of Job's days, Beremoth
and Leviathan, are mentioned to emphasize how much more powerful God was. God is more
powerful than we can imagine. It's a bit like using Superman as an example of strength
and power today. You can almost see Job throw his hands in the air and admit defeat. Job
concedes that God is in a different league to all creatures created or imagined. God
replaced all that Job lost, and Job goes on to live a long and fruitful life.
And now today's action step. You can be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief as we come
to the end of Job, but it will be nothing compared to how Job felt. All that Job treasured
in life had been taken away, but his faith remained intact, even if his friends were
of little help, and even though Job did seem to overreact at times. Even after all the
trials of the Old Testament, Malachi, its last book, reminds us that if we do our part,
God will pour out so much blessing on us that it will overflow as it exceeds our capacity
to contain it. Over the years I have thought I was making sacrifices for God, but looking
back, what he then did for me in return was far greater. Of course, we shouldn't be following
God so that we can be rewarded. That is not the way. However, it is comforting to know
that when our circumstances are a bit tight or conditions are uncomfortable, God wants
us to be faithful, and in his good time he will pour out blessings on us that will overflow
our lives.